A History of Korea (15 page)

Some Korean writings followed the Chinese literary style. One such example is the inscription on the memorial stele of the Kogury
ŏ
king Kwanggaet’o of 414, written in Chinese characters. But novices in Chinese writing had difficulty understanding it. Therefore a method of reading Chinese texts was developed, where additional markers, called kugy
ŏ
l or
t’o,
written in Chinese characters, were appropriately inserted between phrases of the text. The kugy
ŏ
l system sought to render Chinese texts into Korean with minimal distortion. The Silla scholar S
ŏ
l Ch’ong is said to have used this kugy
ŏ
l system when he read Chinese classics. Koreans finally dropped these modified writing and reading systems, including idu, hyangch’al, and kugy
ŏ
l, when, in the mid-fifteenth century, they invented a true scientific phonetic alphabet, han’g
ŭ
l.

Each of the Three Kingdoms compiled its own history around the time it laid the groundwork for national development. The compilation of national history, therefore, was almost synchronized with the promulgation of a code of laws, the establishment of national institutions, and the striving for territorial expansion. In this light, the compilation of history represented an expression of desires to demonstrate the nation’s legitimacy and authority abroad, and to win the allegiance of people at home by stressing national pride.

Kogury
ŏ
was the first to compile its national history. It is said, early on, the kingdom produced a 100-volume
Yugi,
or Extant Records, and that this voluminous historic work was rewritten into a five-volume
Sinjip,
or New Compilation, in 600 by Yi Mun-jin. Precisely when
Yugi
was written is unknown, but it is surmised that it was written in the reign of King T’aejo who secured the right to the throne by the Ko house of the Kyeru-bu lineage and vigorously expanded the state’s territory.
Sinjip
seems to have added post-
Yugi
Kogury
ŏ
history to the original work.

In Paekche the scholar Koh
ŭ
ng compiled a history called
S
ŏ
gi,
or Documentary Records, in 375 in the reign of King K
ŭ
nch’ogo. Japan’s
Nihon shogi,
produced in 720, was modeled after Paekche’s
S
ŏ
gi.
The Silla scholar-general
K
ŏ
ch’ilbu also compiled his kingdom’s history in a work titled
Kuksa,
or National History, in 545 during King Chinh
ŭ
ng’s reign.

None of these histories has survived, but
Samguk sa,
or History of the Three Kingdoms, compiled in the early Kory
ŏ
dynasty, may have included many references to these works. Their contents also seem to have been largely incorporated by Kim Pu-sik in his twelfth-century
Samguk sagi.
But because Kim Pusik, a Silla offspring, compiled his work centering on Silla,
Samguk sagi
seems to have deleted much of the content that was disadvantageous to Silla from the written histories of Kogury
ŏ
and Paekche.

Using Chinese characters and writing, Koreans were able to read Chinese scriptures on Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and thus significantly raised the level of their spiritual culture. Confucianism comprised the teachings and lessons of famous Chinese scholars, particularly those of Confucius and Mencius, and its central idea was that the government should treat its people humanely and that people should do the same with one another. People should conduct themselves according to five principles: loyalty to the king, filial piety to parents, trust between friends, respect for elders among siblings, and love and peace between husband and wife. Confucian philosophy was a moral code for governing a country as well as for familial relations. The emperors of Han China adopted Confucianism as the official philosophy, because it inspired loyalty to the monarch among his subjects. When the Han commanderies were established on the Korean peninsula in 108
BC
, Confucianism, the Han empire’s code of conduct, was introduced into Korea, and thereafter it became deeply embedded in the fabric of Korean society.

The Three Kingdoms attempted to inculcate the Confucian ethos as a means of maintaining their hierarchic social orders. Kogury
ŏ
established a national academy, called T’aehak, in 372, modeled after one where the Chinese taught Chinese philosophy, literature, and literary writing, as well as military arts. At T’aehak, the institution of five
paksa,
or scholars, equivalent to today’s Ph.D.s, was established to teach the Five Classics of Confucianism, including
Shijing,
or Book of Poetry;
Shujing,
or Book of History;
Yijing,
or Book of Divination;
Chunqiu,
or Spring and Autumn Annals; and
Liji,
or Book of Rites. Later unmarried youth were assembled at ky
ŏ
ngdang, or the local academy, in each area for instruction in reading Chinese texts and for practicing archery. It is recorded that the Kogury
ŏ
scholars read the Five Classics, as well as Sima Qian’s
Shiji
;
Ban Gu’s
Hanshu,
or History of the Han Dynasty;
Yupian,
a Chinese character dictionary; and
Wenxuan,
or Literary Selections, an anthology of Chinese literature. Thus it was not accidental that the people of Kogury
ŏ
compiled their history and had a fluent command of Chinese writing, as evinced in the inscription on the stone monument of King Kwanggaet’o.

Paekche also actively accepted Confucianism, which helped shape the nation’s administrative system, culture, and art. Confucian educational institutes must have flourished to teach Chinese philosophy, art, literature, poetry, and other subjects. Educated Paekche scholars such as Wang In, Agikki, Tanyangi, Ko An-mu, and Wang Yu-gui later introduced Confucian classics to Japan and taught the Japanese royalty.

Silla was the last of the Three Kingdoms to accept the Confucian way of life, but Confucian moral values were already widely disseminated among the people in the kingdom. This is demonstrated by the monk W
ŏ
n’gwang’s five secular injunctions and by the Oath Inscription of 732, a text incised on a stone tablet where two Silla youth swore to strictly observe the code of loyalty and complete the reading of three Confucian classics—the Book of Poetry, the Book of History, and the Book of Rites—within three years. After unification, Silla established a national university called Kukhak, or the National Confucian Academy, in 682.

In China, however, Confucianism declined as the Han dynasty declined and fell. During the Tang period, Taoism gained popularity among Chinese scholars. The Tang rulers, whose family name was Li, traced their ancestors back to the founder of Taoism, Laozi, who also had been named Li. In earlier times Tang ranked Laozi above Confucius or Buddha. As Koreans increasingly felt the strength of the Tang dynasty, they, too, adopted Taoism.

Taoism was first introduced to Kogury
ŏ
in 643 as a result of Kogury
ŏ
’s active cultural exchange with China. Later it was also introduced to Paekche and Silla. Taoism was vehemently taken up by Silla’s young hwarang bands, as Taoist philosophy supported the ideal of promoting the self-development of body and soul.

In accepting both Confucianism and Taoism, Koreans in the Three Kingdoms enjoyed an enriched spiritual life. Whereas Confucianism served as a moral principle of human behavior for social order, Taoism became a form of religion in which people sought spiritual strength. People believed that, through Taoism, they could attain earthly perpetual life.

Each of the Three Kingdoms also accepted Buddhism in the course of establishing a centralized kingdom. Before the introduction of this foreign religion, the king ruled his country by virtue of the authority that his progenitor had been the son of heaven, or a demigod. This was based upon the myth of how the state had been born. As time went on, however, the general populace no longer believed that the king was the son of a heavenly god. Needing something new to legitimize or authorize his rule, the king turned to the Buddhist teaching that the king was the Buddha. Although he was not a god but a human being, Buddha attained spiritual awakening, and, accordingly, by identifying with Buddha, the king became endowed with new authority over his people. Furthermore, the Buddhist teaching of an endless cycle of reincarnation, a rebirth based on
karma,
retribution for the deeds of a former life, justified strict social stratification. Buddhism was a doctrine that justified the privileged position of the establishment and, for this reason, it was adamantly welcomed by the king, the royal house, and the aristocracy.

Buddhism was first introduced to Kogury
ŏ
in 372, when the Chinese monk Shundao (Sundo in Korean) came to the Korean kingdom from the Chinese Earlier Qin state, then in control of northern China, and brought with him images of Buddha and Buddhist sutras. Twelve years later, in 384, another monk, Marananta (Maluonantuo in Chinese), brought Buddhism to Paekche from Chinese East Jin. Since Kogury
ŏ
and Paekche had already actively accepted Chinese culture, Buddhism was conveyed from states in China with friendly ties to the recipients as part of an officially sanctioned cultural exchange. The new religious doctrine was well received by the ruling class without causing significant discord.

In Silla Buddhism was first disseminated in the fifth century by the monk Mukhoja, also known as Ado, who entered the kingdom from Kogury
ŏ
.
⁸
Although this missionary effort was based on an individual initiative and attracted the common people to Buddhism, there was considerable resistance to the alien religion among the central aristocracy which adhered to traditional shamanist beliefs. Buddhism was brought to the royal house a century later, with the arrival of the monk envoy W
ŏ
np’yo from the southern Chinese state of Liang. For a considerable period, however, it was not accepted because of stiff opposition by the ruling aristocracy. Buddhism was officially recognized only after the storied martyrdom of the high court aristocrat Ich’adon in the reign of King
P
ŏ
ph
ŭ
ng in 527.
⁹
The next king Chinh
ŭ
ng encouraged the growth of Buddhism, and eventually it was recognized as the national religion of Silla.

In the Three Kingdoms the king took the initiative in accepting Buddhism. This is particularly remarkable in the case of Silla, where, only after the alien religion had been transmitted to the king and royal house, was the way opened for official recognition. Buddhism was strongly supported and promoted by the Silla king and royal house, because it was regarded as a spiritual prop to consolidate kingly authority. Four Silla kings and two queens—King P
ŏ
ph
ŭ
ng (514–540), King Chinh
ŭ
ng (540–576), King Chinji (576–579), King Chinp’y
ŏ
ng (579–632), Queen S
ŏ
nd
ŏ
k (632–647), and Queen Chind
ŏ
k (647–654)—adopted Buddhist names and portrayed themselves as Buddha-kings, based on the belief that the king was the Buddha. Further, all of the nation’s land ruled by the king was identified with the Buddha land, and thereafter Buddhist temples were built throughout the country.

In each of the three states, Buddhism was welcomed as a vehicle offering the rich promise of worldly rewards to the individual, for instance, through prayers for recovering from illness or for having children. More important, it functioned as a doctrine or faith assuring protection of the state. In Silla, the sutra
Inwang-gy
ŏ
ng,
or Sutra of the Benevolent Kings, which contained the doctrines of state protection, was held in particular esteem. The numerous Buddhist temples in the Three Kingdoms dedicated to disseminating the doctrine of the state’s well-being included Paekche’s Wangh
ŭ
ng-sa, or Temple of the King Ascendant, and Mir
ŭ
k-sa, or Temple of Maitreya, and Silla’s Hwangyongsa, or Temple of the Illustrious Dragon. In particular, the nine-story wooden pagoda, built in 645 at Hwangyong-sa and perhaps, at 70 meters in height, East Asia’s tallest manmade structure of the period, was said to symbolize the nine nations, including China and Japan, that were destined to submit to Silla rule. The young hwarang warriors had strong connections to the worship of the Maitreya Buddha and were regarded as the avatar of the future Buddha who would bring enlightenment and abundance to mankind.

The Buddhist sect that flourished most during the Three Kingdoms period was the Vinaya, or
Kyeyul,
sect, which was mainly concerned with the study and implementation of moral discipline. The Paekche monk Ky
ŏ
mik and the Silla monk Chajang were major figures in this sect. Chajang, in particular, is credited with having been a major force in adopting Buddhism as the state religion. Because of the close nexus that existed between Buddhism and the state, Silla established a hierarchy of abbot administrators at the district, province,
and national levels who applied the disciplines of the Vinaya order to control the temples and monks throughout the state. Chajang occupied the position of chief abbot of the state and supervised the entire Buddhist establishment in the kingdom. In later years, in Kogury
ŏ
and Paekche, the Nirvana, or
Y
ŏ
rban,
sect, most notably espoused by the Kogury
ŏ
monk Pod
ŏ
k, increasingly gained popularity among the general populace.

Buddhist monks in this time of the Three Kingdoms were pioneers in bringing new elements of Chinese culture, at the time known as “Western study,” into Korea. Monks also served as spiritual leaders for the people, as illustrated by the Silla monk W
ŏ
n’gwang’s formulation of the five secular injunctions for the hwarang bands. Because Buddhism received extensive support and protection from the state, monks frequently acted as political advisers, as shown by the high-level appointment of monk Chajang as chief abbot of the state; it was he who proposed the construction of the nine-story pagoda at Hwangyongsa, noted above. In short, the Three Kingdoms each embraced Buddhism as a highly disciplined philosophical religion to make the alien religion a spiritual prop that would bring national unity and solidarity to the states. The rulers also sought to consolidate regal power with the Buddha serving as a venerated symbol of authority.